The California Supreme
Court will close its satellite clerk’s office in the RonaldReaganBuilding at the end of the
month, a court spokesperson said yesterday.

The decision to close
the office was made for budgetary reasons, following a review of the work
processed by the office and the cost of operations, the spokesperson said. The
office, located at 300 S. Spring St., will be shuttered at the close of
business on Dec. 31.

Chief Justice Ronald M.
George explained in a statement that the Supreme Court “regrets making this
decision, but it is important during tough economic times to carefully
scrutinize the court’s filing practices and procedures and find cost savings
and efficiencies where possible.”

He thanked the
supervising deputy clerk and two deputy clerks who staff the office for their
“loyalty and dedication to excellent public service.”

Like the court’s
headquarters office in San
Francisco,
the Los
Angeles
office receives Supreme Court filings and documents from court users. After the
initial case data is entered into the automated system, all case files and
documents are shipped to the San Francisco office, where additional clerical work is
performed before the cases are assigned to the court’s legal staff.

Effective Jan. 1, all
petitions for review, writs and legal briefs must be filed directly with the
Clerk’s Office at the EarlWarrenBuilding, First Floor, 350 McAllister St., San Francisco.

The closure of the Los Angeles office will not change
the Supreme Court’s practice of regularly holding oral argument in Los Angeles, the spokesperson said.